Chaucer's Views Exposed in The Canterbury Tales

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Chaucer's Views Exposed in The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales were written and pieced together in the late 1380's, early 1390's. The author of the book is Geoffrey Chaucer. When considering the structure of the tales, one can deduce that they were put together using Framework Narrative, a very unique style of writing. The opening prologue speaks of 29 pilgrims, including Chaucer, who are all on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. All of them are seeking a certain shrine for spiritual cleansing, and relief. The journey was to be long, but in the end it would all be worth it. Chaucer's social views and prejudices are revealed through his description of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer presents a very positive picture of the pilgrims in the ruling class. For example, when describing the personality of the Knight, he refers to him as being honorable, truthful, chivalrous, courteous, brave, and gentle. Two quotes that stood out when searching for the positive qualities of the Knight were:

· "He was a true and perfect gentle Knight."(Chaucer Pg. 2-Line 15)

· "He had never yet in all his life spoken discourteously to anybody." (Chaucer Pg. 2-Line 14)

Chaucer also builds up the Squire, the Knights son in a similar way. He says that the squire is remarkably agile, strong, joyful, courteous, helpful, and humble. Two quotes that were quite noticeable when searching for the positive qualities of the Squire were:

· "His cloak was short, with long, wide sleeves, and he sat his horse well and rode excellently."(Chaucer Pg. 2-Line 30)

· "He could compose the words and music for songs, joust and also dance, and draw and write very well."(Ch...

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Works Cited and Consulted:

Brewer, Derek. Tradition and Innovation in Chaucer. London: Macmillan, 1982.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Pp. 3-328. In the Riverside Chaucer. Larry D. Benson, ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987.

Cooper, Helen. "The Shape-shiftings of the Wife of Bath, 1395-1670." Pp. 168-184. In Chaucer Traditions: Studies in Honour of Derek Brewer. Ruth Morse and Barry Windeatt, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.

Delasanta, Rodney. "Nominalism and the 'Clerk's Tale' Revisited." Chaucer Review 31.3 (1997), 209-231.

Hallissy, Margaret. Clean Maids, True Wives, Steadfast Widows: Chaucer's Women and Medieval Codes of Conduct. Connecticut: Greenwood, 1993.

Saul, Nigel. "Chaucer and Gentility." Pp. 41-58. In Chaucer's England. Barbara A. Hanawalt, ed. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1992.

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